CMA Board and National Committee

Linda Nunn

Day job: Director, Cranborne Chase AONB

Background: Since 1980, Linda has had various countryside ranger roles in Warrington, Lancashire, Merseyside and Dorset until taking on the challenge of leading the Cranborne Chase AONB team from 2000. Since 2005, Linda has run a charity supporting the rangers in Virunga NP, DR Congo. She joined CMA in 1981 and became a Board member in 2014. At the 9th World Ranger Congress held in Chitwan NP Nepal in November 2019, Linda was elected as Vice President of the International Ranger Federation

Email: chairman@countrysidemanagement.org.uk               

Alan Preece

Day Job: Senior Warden, Saltwells Nature Reserve, Dudley MBC

Background: Alan has been in the countryside management sector since finishing his BSc in Environmental Science in 1998. He then spent a year volunteering at Baggeridge Country Park in South Staffordshire before going on to study for his MSc in Habitat Creation and Management. Following this he worked for a year’s with A Rocha in Portugal carrying out sustainable fisheries research and helping to run their field study centre.
He joined Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s reserves team in 2001 where he led on volunteer recruitment and management. He then moved to London Borough of Hillingdon looking after their country parks and many of their nature reserves.
From there Alan took on the role of borough ecologist in Dudley Council’s planning policy team where he led on nature conservation policy and planning application advice. After six years he hopped back over the field gate to manage Saltwells Nature Reserve.
He has been fortunate to work on ecological research in Portugal, France and Lebanon as well as the UK. However his main interest is getting people from all backgrounds to actively improve their natural environment.”

Email: treasurer@countrysidemanagement.org.uk                      

Mark Baker

Day job: Country Parks Manager, Devon County Council

Background: Having held a variety of ranger and warden roles in Oxfordshire, Derbyshire and abroad, Mark has been the manager of the Grand Western Canal Country Park & LNR in Devon since 2003.  He has been a CMA member since 2001 and a board member since 2014.

Email: secretary@countrysidemanagement.org.uk              

Steve Peach

Day Job: Land Management Officer for Hampshire County Council

Background: I started working with Hampshire County Council in 1981, years later having had various roles from Countryside Interpreter to Senior Ranger, I still enjoy working in countryside management and the feeling of doing something worthwhile.

Working for Hampshire means that I have experienced everything from large and busy Country Parks, internationally important wetland sites, ancient woodlands, amazing heathlands to tiny urban sites. Hampshire also contains two National Parks.

Having originally trained in youth development, I am passionate about getting young people involved in the environment. I am also a big advocate of adaptive land management, landscape level projects and partnership working.

I have been involved with the CMA and its predecessor the ACR, for many years, with County Rep, Regional Rep, National Committee, National Treasurer all on my CMA CV as well as being involved in the organisation of National and International Ranger conferences.

As result of attending an IRF Congress I became involved in a ‘Twinning Project’ which links UK and Uganda Parks, this has now evolved into a charity that supports Uganda Rangers, encourages links between UK and Uganda schools and promotes community conservation projects. Travelling regularly to Africa has proved to me that you are never to old to learn and take on new ideas!

Day job: Lead Ranger – Nymans (National Trust)

Background: Chloe trained to be a ranger with East Sussex County Council and since 2003 has been working for the National Trust, currently as Lead Ranger at Nymans, West Sussex. A relatively small but perfectly formed example of beautiful Wealden woodland, mostly SSSI, known for its ‘Atlantic’ flora, sandstone outcrops, meadows and waterways.

Since 2016, Chloe has also been part of the National Trust’s Ranger Champions group helping represent rangers in the London & South East region.

Chloe says “As well as a lifelong interest in conservation, I love to travel and was lucky enough to do so extensively in the past. Now, happily, through the CMA I’ve managed to combine both passions and in the process visited some amazing places and got to know many of our international counterparts. I believe that there is so much we can all learn from one another and through this role hope to be able to help other CMA members find opportunities to benefit from the warmth, support and willingness to share knowledge and experience that our international community offers.”

Email: international@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Howard Sutcliffe

Day job: AONB Officer

Background: I have always enjoyed the countryside and coast, being born in Blackpool Lancashire and I enjoyed growing up with the hustle and bustle of family shops on the golden mile. Time off was often spent in the Lake District or Bleasdale and the Trough in the Forest of Bowland.

Entered in to Countryside Management over 30 years ago, my first two summers were spent as a Seasonal Ranger in the Lake District National Park.

I then moved to Cheshire County Council as a Countryside Ranger managing various sites around Delamere. Finally I moved to North East Wales where I manage Denbighshire County Council’s Warden Service and Countryside Properties.

I am also lucky enough to be the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Officer which covers 390 square kilometres of rural Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham. The stunning landscape consists of windswept moorlands, craggy limestone outcrops, the meandering River Dee and the popular tourist destination Llangollen.

Email: wales@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Tom Heenan

Day job: Ranger, Essex County Council

Background: After studying a degree in Zoology with Conservation‎, Tom ‎started out as a Volunteer Ranger at Kelburn Castle & Estate in Scotland. He then returned to the East of England and volunteered at Epping Forest Field Centre, and worked as a voluntary Warden with TCV Urban Ecology in Greenwich, London. He gained a paid position as Assistant Ranger with Essex Wildlife Trust in 2012, then a full-time Ranger position in 2014 with Thurrock Council. He currently works as a Ranger in the Essex Country Parks team.

Tom joined the CMA in 2010, and has been active on the East of England committee since 2014.

Email: eastengland@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Ted Talbot

Day job: Countryside Manager for the National Trust in the Peak District

Background: Ted is passionate about the rangering profession and hopes to inspire all rangers to see the value of joining a professional organization.  He has over 25 years’ experience as both a Ranger and Countryside Manager and worked on the internationally renowned Ranger training courses run from the Peak District National Park’s training centre at Losehill Hall for over ten years until its closure in 2010. During this time his main experience was with local authority countryside services in Barnsley & Sheffield where he managed the Woodlands Section as well as the Ranger Service until moving to the National Trust in 2014.  Ted has been lucky enough to deliver Ranger training events all over the UK and also, through interpreters in both Austria and Slovakia. As one of the Midlands Region National Trust “Ranger Champions” he is looking forward to welcoming more National Trust Rangers into the CMA.

Email: ntrust@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Emma Jones

Day job: Area Ranger, Killerton Estate, Devon.

Background: My first taste of countryside management was when I was taking part in my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award – I joined the East Devon Coast Path Rangers, helping to repair steps and reinstate wildlife ponds. I was hooked!!! I had found my vocation!

I am not greatly academic – but I worked hard to get the exam results I needed to go to college at Aberystwyth and study Countryside Management. As part of the course we had to complete a years Industrial Placement. Cornwall National Trust were offering 5 places to our college. I got a placement in West Penwith. Such an awe-inspiring place to work.

After I finished college, I went and volunteered for the National Trust in Kingswear, South Devon for a year, and got more experience. This was when I was first introduced to the CMA and its sister organisation CJS.

In 1997 I got my first proper job as a Sector Ranger for the Dartmoor National Park Authority. I had an amazing 7 years there. But I felt the call of the National Trust. A position came up on Dartmoor with them, which I went for. I took a massive 6K pay cut for the privilege! But I still think it was worth it.

I went on to work as NT Area Ranger in Salcombe, South Devon for 6 years. After a restructuring – I took time out to raise my family of 3 children. Never one to rest on my laurels though – believing in the power of volunteering – I volunteered for the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust and Dartmoor National Trust, doing a variety of tasks from guided walks, supporting volunteers, dormouse surveys, fencing and estate skills.

A job came up working for East Devon County Council Countryside – working on a new green space for the housing development of Cranbrook. I took a leap of faith back into work. The role wasn’t what it should have been – it gave me an eye-opening experience of working with developers. After 4 years of soul destroying, morale defeating work – an opportunity came up with the National Trust at Killerton – and my time working alongside Cranbrook which is built upon the boundary of Killerton actually helped me to give insight to the National Trust about the work there – so everything happens for a reason.

Since 2018 I have been Area Ranger at the National Trust Killerton Estate in Devon.

Email: southwest@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Richard Westwood

Day Job: Countryside Ranger, Bracknell Forest Council

Background: Richard’s early passion for wildlife conservation started as a teenager volunteering for the local Silchester Common work party. This led him to study Countryside and Environmental Management at Harper Adams University. Following graduation he worked for a few years at Wokingham Borough Council, moving for a short period to West Berkshire Council based on Greenham Common. In 2013 he moved to his current role, managing various reserves around Sandhurst and Crowthorne, one notable site being Wildmoor Heath which is part of the Thames Basin Heath Special Protected Area.

In his spare time Richard is a keen sailor, notching up many miles around the British Isles and Mediterranean. He still volunteers a lot in his local area and is an elected councillor for Silchester Parish Council.

Richard looks forward to promoting the CMA in the South East and meeting other countryside professionals in the region. He is currently looking for members to join the South East Committee. If you are interested, please get in touch.

Email: southeast@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Toby Edwards

Day Job: Ranger for National Trust at Mount Stewart Demesne, Northern Ireland – Covering restoration & development for conservation & access across the recently acquired estate.

Background: Originally from NW Somerset growing up sandwiched between, Exmoor, Blackdowns and Quantocks I left for North Wales to complete my degree in Leisure & the Environment specialising in wilderness, heritage and sustainable development. I ended up in the area for 6 years, working & exploring and bouncing back to the South-West for seasonal work. I began volunteering for National Trust on Anglesey and in North Devon 2004-6 and then took up a residential Volunteer Warden post based at NT Lanhydrock, Cornwall.

In 2007 I moved to Northern Ireland to take up Ranger post with the NT on the North Coast. This developed into a Lead role focusing on the restoration & re-development of the Downhill Demesne estate. 2012 saw me make the unusual jump from countryside to visitor services in the Site/Operations manager role covering Portstewart Strand, Downhill Demesne, Hezlett House and some 2000+acres of highly designated costal and estuarine lands with over 300K visitors pa. Fed-up with being office bound in that role I got back out on the ground in 2015 taking up my current role in the newly acquired 1000acre demesne surrounding Mount Stewart on the Ards Peninsula

Email: nireland@countrysidemanagement.org.uk                       

Joe Williams

Day Job: Ranger with the National Trust, Hawkshead and Claife, Lake District

Background: I’ve been working as a Ranger since 2015, formally in Hampshire, until October 2018, moving to work for the National Trust in the South Lakes of the Lake District. My time as a ranger has been marked by experiences resulting from the collaboration of rangers across different parks and areas and this is something I hope to be an active part of as the North West representative for the CMA. My current role in the Trust encompasses a variety of conservation tasks, working with an exceptional ranger team and fantastic volunteers around Hawkshead, Claife and the west shore of Windermere. I have been immensely privileged to have spent time with rangers in Norway, Poland and, most influentially to me ,Uganda- learning from their approaches to conservation and attitudes to protecting the wildlife and landscapes of their parks. I believe that collaboration between Rangers is one of the best mechanisms we have to learn and improve ourselves and feel the CMA offers a great and unique opportunity for rangers around the U.K. to do this.

Email: northwest@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Chris Lockyer

Day job: Assistant Ranger, High Peak, for the National Trust in the Peak District National Park

Background: Starting conservation volunteering at the age of 14 Chris studied a National Diploma in Countryside Management followed by a degree in Biology with Conservation & Biodiversity. Following graduation Chris worked with Sheffield Wildlife Trust and their contractual arm and the Moors For The Future Partnership carrying out hydrological survey work in the Peak District.

He then took on a short term contract with the National Trust on the Farne Islands carrying our extensive monitoring of the nesting sea bird populations.

In 2015 Chris returned to the Peak District and continued working with the National Trust where outside of practical countryside management he has a strong focus on cross compliance and ecological monitoring.

Joining the CMA in 2016 he attended the World Ranger Congress in Colorado, USA and the 2017 European Ranger Congress in the Czech Republic. Chris is also involved with The Thin Green Line Foundation in the UK and hopes to promote the work of Rangers at home and abroad along with building the CMA presence in the East Midlands.

Email: eastmidlands@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Colin Houston

Day job: Projects and Volunteer Manager, Hampstead Heath

Background: Colin began working in rewilding projects at Alladale Wilderness Reserve and Scottish Native Woods after completing a geography degree and MSc in Environmental Protection and Management at the University of Edinburgh.

Relocating to London he worked as an Environmental Consultant in the engineering sector, before stopping the commute and managing projects abroad for Raleigh International.

A keen mountaineer, he joined the City of London Corporation’s Open Spaces in 2015 with responsibilities across Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood, Kenwood Estate, Keats House and Golders Hill Park.  He manages the independent volunteering charity Heath Hands, whose members support conservation, garden maintenance, ecology, education and events staff across these green spaces.  Recently he has become focused on supporting disadvantaged and disabled individuals and groups to get involved in the outdoors through the launch of their Community Heath project.

Email: london@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Day job: Woodland Programme Advisor for Natural Resources Wales

Background:  I joined CMA way back in 1998 just after securing my first full time countryside management post as a Countryside Ranger with the newly formed Herefordshire Council, where I spent 10 years based at a country park dealing with all the usual tasks plus managing local nature reserves, picnic sites and some regional walking routes until 1 of the many restructures.

I then went over the border to SE Wales and spent 11 years working for Gwent Wildlife Trust as Senior Farm& Wildlife Development Officer managing several nature reserves, developing a conservation grazing programme getting the Trust’s first livestock as well as dealing with Single Farm Payment and many Welsh Government agri-environmental schemes.

I spent 12 months with Norfolk Wildlife Trust as Conservation Grazing Manager before returning West to work for Natural Resources Wales as a Natura 2000 sites advisor before moving in May 2021 to the Woodland Programme team carrying out verification checks on the applications for the Welsh Woodland Creation Scheme.

Email: westmidlands@countrysidemanagement.org.uk

Day job: Countryside Ranger, Meanwood Valley for Leeds City Council Parks & Countryside Service

Background: David grew up on a Leeds housing estate and started conservation volunteering as a child in the cubs and later the scouts, developing his passion and interest for birds, bats, moths and butterflies and exploring local greenspaces. Following a move to the Yorkshire Dales, Dave made a career change into conservation, after working in print, media and publishing for nearly 20 years.

David volunteered with the National Park Authority, Natural England, Rivers Trust, Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Peat Partnership to gain practical experience. Developing a strong interest and passion for infrastructure, public rights of way repairs and flood mitigation work and later, habitat management and ecology work, extending his interests to public outreach and education work.

David studied for a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Countryside Management with NPTCs in Land Based Machinery, followed by Degrees in (FD) Environmental Conservation and (Bsc) in Countryside Management. David undertook voluntary work before securing a role with Leeds City Council in 2018 in a joint role as a Heritage Ranger on a HLF funded project and a Countryside Ranger.

David’s main focus is countryside and urban fringe habitat management work on nature reserves, greenspaces, green corridors and public rights of way work. Working with community and corporate volunteer groups. Carrying out wildlife and ecological surveys. Delivering a wide range of public nature events, outreach and education sessions with primary schools and youth groups. He places a strong focus on inclusiveness and equality, and is keen to make volunteering and the sector more accessible to people from different cultural, socio-economical, backgrounds and people with disabilities who are under-represented in the sector.

David hopes to promote the professional work of Rangers at home, building a stronger CMA presence in Yorkshire and Humber region and abroad.

Email: yorksandhumber@countrysidemanagement.org.uk